A fundraiser for women’s charities in commemoration of Sarah Everard, whose body was found on Friday after she vanished in London more than a week ago, has raised more than £200,000 since its launch on Saturday morning.
The fundraiser was organised by Reclaim These Streets, after the cancellation of its in-person vigil for Everard over disputes with police about the legality and safety of the gathering. It was launched at 7.15am on Saturday, and had raised a remarkable £203,432 by the early afternoon.
The group aims to raise £320,000, representing the £10,000 fine each woman organising was threatened with across the 32 locations where in-person vigils were planned.
Speaking to the Guardian, organiser Caitlin Prowle said the group was “thrilled” and “couldn’t be more grateful for all the support”.
“This is money that would have come about negatively, through fines for organisers. To be able to raise it in this alternative positive way is amazing. We hope it’ll climb even further,” she said.
In a tweet announcing the landmark passing of £100,000, Reclaim These Streets said it was “absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of support you have all shown today”.
In a statement on the JustGiving page, the group said: “We do not want to see hundreds of thousands of pounds contributed to a system that consistently fails to keep women safe – either in public spaces or in the privacy of their homes. Women’s rights are too important.
“Instead, we are setting up a fundraiser to raise the money we would have been liable for in fines to donate to supporting women’s causes around the country instead. We will also be donating the remaining funds of our legal costs crowdfunder to this charitable fund. Our goal is £320,000 which is £10,000 for each location where vigils were expected to go ahead,” it said.
The Labour MP Jess Philips has been among those vocally supporting the fundraiser.
“Women organising to raise each other up, these women are amazing. Help them if you can,” she tweeted, sharing the group’s fundraiser.
